Watch a Hippo Try to Flip a Fishing Boat With One Powerful Headbutt

The start of this video may confuse you. Initially, you only see a few still shots of this eventful day. Then, a few seconds in, the video starts, and you can see two men on a boat. The one at the front of the boat is holding a fishing rod while the second man is dipping a neck gaiter into the water to place it on his friend’s neck and help him cool down.

He then puts a neck gaiter on himself as he makes a bit of an exasperated sound — you can hear from this vocalization just how hot it is that day. It’s not clear what the temperatures may actually be. All you see are clear skies with a few scattered clouds.

Anyway, the man picks up a fishing rod and now they’re both holding out their rods. Suddenly, something unseen slams against their boat. They’re both forced to their knees. Luckily, neither of them gets thrown out but it very well could have happened if they didn’t know how to handle that situation.

You hear splashes as both men turn around and try to figure out what’s going on. The first man who was holding the fishing rod immediately emerges with a gun ready to scare off any attackers. He fires it twice while the second man stays kneeled, looking over the side of the boat. You never actually see the hippo, but they soon realized what happened.

A third man emerges from behind the camera with a red shirt and they have a couple of words. The third man turns the fishing boat on as they try to make their way away from whatever danger just approached them. After they’ve cleared the area where they felt the impact, they start laughing at what has just occurred. You can almost feel their nervous systems start to settle again.

They keep talking a bit, sharing a little bit more laughter to release the tension their bodies must have felt at the moment of impact. The video replays in slow motion at that moment. You see how it’s totally lopsided and the men are completely thrown off balance.

They have great reflexes, however, and managed to save themselves from getting into the water where that hippo was probably lying in wait. Hippos are incredibly dangerous creatures. They are wildly unpredictable, unbelievably strong, and sporadically aggressive.

Up Next, Learn More About How Hippos Behave in the Wild:

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